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Lunch presentation on Nob Hills application to the Main Street program.

For the past few months I've been a part of the Proposed Historic Nob Hill District Main Street Steering Committee, we've come along way in the application process, which is almost complete. This Friday, the 10th, is the final assessment by the NM Main Street directors (part of the State Department of Economic Development,) as to the readiness of Nob Hill to participate. Part of the agenda on Friday is a public lunch for those who wish to know more about the program, what it has to offer, and what some of the potential benefits are for Nob Hill and the city in general. The state director of the program will give a presentation that will cover both general and specific aspects.

Nob Hill was an early participant in the program and much of what we see today in the area is an outgrowth of this participation in the 80s. The program itself is very much of a help you help yourself design. The ultimate plans, goals, and successes are completely based on widespread community input and active participation. The basis of the program (state wide and nationally) is to strengthen or revitalize neighborhoods and districts with a focus on sustainable economic development, maintaining and strengthening a genuine sense of community, creating a walkable and pedestrian friendly environment, and preserving or enhancing a sense of the historic nature of the area while allowing for and encouraging modern usage. The program is based on a four point approach that covers a wide range of areas, more information is available from the programs website. Our committee's hope is to foster growth that will make Nob Hill a city, state, and regional showpiece of sustainable economic development and to increase the simple enjoyment of being in the neighborhood.

I would strongly suggest that anyone who has an interest in the Nob Hill area and wishes to learn more to attend this lunch, it will be held Friday, the 10th of April at noon, in the upstairs meeting area of Scalo in the Nob Hill Shopping Center. Please contact me directly if you wish to attend this lunch or participate in the program; strong community participation makes a stronger community!

Tags: community, crosswalks, development, economic, hill, nob, participation, pedestrian, sustainability

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Comment by Duane W Bargar on April 7, 2009 at 5:16pm: Day time meetings are always a bit difficult for scheduling. I'll post some follow up info afterwards too.

Comment by Duane W Bargar on April 8, 2009 at 9:34am: The Pedestrian safety and friendliness issue issue is at the top of our list, whether we are accepted in the Main Street program or not, we're looking at ways to tackle this. On of the best things about the Main Street program is that it can bring a variety of groups together with an actual organizational framework that has a binding agreement with the city - thus making changes such as what you mentioned more of a possibility than coming as individuals or a group representing a narrow spectrum of the population. The other thing that is good about the program is that it is home grown; a group of businesses, residents, property owners, and interested parties that feel that there are many things that can and need to be accomplished to make a lasting positive impact. Participation in the program helps facilitate this, but does not impose specific tasks or make boiler plate suggestions. If we are accepted, it would be nice to talk further about this and see if some people from DCF that have positive ideas about the area and a willingness to work towards achieving them would be interested in participating.
Thanks, Duane

Comment by Duane W Bargar on April 8, 2009 at 9:47am: I just wanted to add a last little bit of general info here - in New Mexico there are 22 communities presently participating in the program which has been in place since 1984 as part of the department of Economic Development. On a national level the Main Street program is a division of the National Trust for Historic Preservation with hundreds of communities participating, each determining their own needs and strategies.

Comment by once banned twice shy on April 8, 2009 at 12:13pm: Albuquerque Commentator: one thing you cannot ever expect are any traffic lights for pedestrian crossings. Albq.'s traffic engineer in charge of this is adamantly opposed to additional signals for pedestrian or bicycle crossings. His priority is to keep the cars a-moving. I learned this at a Summit Park neighborhood association meeting to specifically address pedestrian and bicycle issues in the neighborhood. Some people were advocating for a traffic signal for pedestrians on Carlisle between Constitution and Indian School (for children walking to school, mainly) and the traffic engineer not only said no, but HELL no. So there you go. I didn't get the impression that the man was pro anything but cars. So, good luck. Maybe Nob Hill will have better luck, since there is commerce in that area...

Duane: any chance that, as a part of this Main Streets thing Nob Hill will reduce parking on at least one side of the street on Silver? All the parking there along with cars trying to fit through it all makes it a hazardous place to cross the street and ride a bike...

Comment by Duane W Bargar on April 8, 2009 at 12:47pm: Yes, additional lights is a touchy issue - we've brought it up in the past a few times and met with the same response. However my understanding is that there are some personnel changes in that department, though I've not spoken with them directly since late last fall.

As far as Silver goes, if we are accepted into the program, it is really up those who contribute ideas and participate what gets worked on. I know that the city (mayor's office and councilor) are committed to making silver as bike friendly as possible but I am also keenly aware of the shortage of parking at peak times in the neighborhood and am not sure if those two potentially conflicting issues can quickly/easily be resolved. Hopefully there will be some good ideas proposed, there is certainly a great deal of people with good ideas that ideally will actively participate. Thanks!

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